The Government’s new ‘Help to Buy’ scheme will give a much-needed boost to Warrington home buyers and the town’s economy, says local property expert Tim Jordan.
Tim, who is a conveyancing partner at Cheshire law firm FDR Law (FDR), welcomes the extension of the scheme to assist all first time buyers and any purchaser of a new home up to a value of £600,000.
Under the new scheme, buyers will be able to apply for a 95% mortgage, which includes a 20% loan from the Government. So for a property worth £100,000, buyers will only have to raise an upfront deposit of £5,000.
Home owners can re-sell their home at any stage. The only restriction is that the home cannot be sub-let or purchased as a buy-to-let property.
“This is great news for first time buyers in the area,” says Tim. “Young people particularly have really struggled to get on the housing ladder since the economy crashed in 2008. Unless they received help from parents or had well-paid jobs, owning their own home was just a pipe dream.
“Now with this scheme extended beyond new homes to cover all first time buyers, it will help to kick-start the local property market and provide a vital leg up for people desperate to own a home.”
Fellow FDR conveyancing partner Vicki Coulthurst agrees: “Ironically many people in recent years have been able to afford monthly mortgage payments – the barrier to home ownership has been the large deposit required by lenders as security on a loan,” she explains.
“There may be worries of the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme causing a damaging bubble in the South East housing market but there are no such concerns in Cheshire. The scheme is good news and is going to help a lot of people who would otherwise be perpetually trapped in rented accommodation.”
To assist people on the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, FDR offers a fixed price conveyancing service. FDR has offices in Warrington’s Palmyra Square, Bold Street, Stockton Heath and Frodsham.